a blog by Enya

National Arts Month 2016: BAZAARI-SARI

It all started with a hairbun with a pencil pierced though it. Kidding. It actually started with a difficult day with an increasingly difficult mental block from over a week ago and an impulsive decision to look for inspiration. And I’m happy to report that I was successful.

So in honor of National Arts Month, my university – MSU-IIT, is currently holding a ‘Bazaari-sari’ which is an exhibit/bazaar for local artists (see poster below).

Photo taken from Prof. German Villanueva Gervacio’s Facebook Profile

AND IT’S AMAZING. As a self-proclaimed partisan of art, I just wanted to run around the exhibit and just look at all the paintings and the merchandise – just basically revert into a child with all the questions and the wonder in the world. I had to physically restrain myself from doing just that but I’m pretty sure I just came off as socially awkward (surprise!).

So I am including photos I took, and a brief discussion of what I learned from exhibits with labels or their artists and personal thoughts and experiences. I’ll be adding new information as I keep dropping by the exhibit throughout the week – which is my way of dealing with the fact that Iligan doesn’t have enough *cough* homes for artists to flourish. *cough*

Sir Jude Galeno Redoble, of ‘Jude Does Arts’ Taken: 2/8/2016

So one of the exhibitors used to be my Humanities 1 lecturer, Sir Jude Redoble and is currently working on something he calls Spirealism(?) which is a combination of realism and a spiral technique and it’s brilliant. We talked a lot about his experiences as an artist so far since his time as a teacher and you guys can check him out at his Facebook Page, Instagram, and Tumblr.

Jude Redoble is an emerging artist based in Iligan City. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English from MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology in 2011. Not having undergone formal art education, he learned techniques from books and from attending occasional art workshops to develop his skills.

Redoble’s current works are mainly about what he sees every day as a commuter. Most of the subjects are people in the streets and in public transportation.

He is having his first solo exhibit in March this year. This shall mark his “coming out” as an artist.

-Taken from his ‘About the Artist’

Artworks by Hyna Calderon Taken: 2/8/2016

This is one of my favorite collections in the exhibit – I’m biased here because I’m very partial to black and white imagery and the colors are muy bien. A classmate-in-one-subject approached me and said that he found the pictures ‘creepy’ but I personally thought this one of the most heart-wrenching pieces and yes, I do like them (a lot, but explaining it would take up too much of the post). I wanted to meet the artist (she’s a freshman, I think it’s amazing) but she wasn’t present *sigh* but the exhibit’s going to be up until Friday so… *fingers crossed*

Sidenote: I don’t feel comfortable posting her cell number (even if she did in her exhibit) so if you are interested, maybe contact her through her Facebook and Instagram in the links I added below, or go to the exhibit and get the number yourself 🙂

2.9.16 Update: I met the artist for like a second, but she was busy so I couldn’t get to talk to her as much as I wanted to.

Halo, my name is Hyna Calderon, a first year BS Biology student from MSU-IIT, 17 years old, from Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte. Ever since I was a young girl growing up, I’ve always had great admiration for art, which catalyzed my passion to create art myself. I love creating heart-touching portraits that is not just merely aesthetically beautiful to look at but most significantly touches art’s real purpose – to feel and fill our hearts. I

f you love my creations and you’d like to see more of them in variety of art styles, you can always follow me on Facebook and Instagram. I also accept personalized art services, if you want your gorgeous faces to be drawn by me. And if you’d like to purchase one of my exhibits, please contact me through my phone number. Thank you so much.

-Taken from her ‘About the Artist’

Quris, independently-organized business venture of students that sell WEAVED-COVERED JOURNALS

Quris, derived from the Bisaya word ‘kuris’ meaning ‘scribble’ is a business venture by Entrepreneurial Marketing students that focus on selling *gasp* journals *faints* that are crafted from local materials that supports a social community. AND THEY ARE SO PRETTY. I CANNOT EMPHASIZE HOW MUCH I WANT ALL OF THEM. Not to mention, they are ~extremely~ affordable and as a stationery fanatic, I am probably going to lose all my funds over them – at least they help a good cause, yes?

And they’re going to be releasing something new later today – if I remember that right, and for every month after. Will I be buying something from them very month? Probably. Will I regret it? Not likely. Will I write on them? We’ll see…

Join me in stalking them on their Facebook and Instagram for possible limited editions and special offers.

2.9.16 Update: The lovely ladies behind Quris are graduating entrepreneurial marketing students and the social cause I mentioned that they were helping is a local community of women laborers that need to generate more income through their current partnership. ALSO, ‘quris’ or maybe ‘kuris’ has an alternate meaning in the Maranao dialect: ‘destiny’

Salima Saway-Agraan’s Soil Painting Exhibit

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN SOIL PAINTING?”

Exactly my reaction when I first caught wind of this technique and let me tell you this: when I first saw pictures of her work when she spoke at TEDxMSUIIT, I couldn’t appreciate it for one reason – I WAS AT THE BACK OF THE THEATER AND COULD SEE NOTHING. But when I saw her paintings I was so taken by the work I was craning my neck to the side to see ~any~ solid traces of the soil she used but the work is clean and flawless. If memory serves, she grew up in a difficult environment and learned about painting through her brother (going to go back and ask her if I can find her) I think, and her art is just… *sigh*

Being the youngest daughter of Talaandig chanter Datu Kinulintang and sister to world-renowned performing artist Waway Saway, Salima honors her family’s artistic tradition through painting. Using soil as a primary medium, Salima tells the story of the Talaandig people on canvas. She has exhibited her artworks in the Philippines through Kalinawa Art Awards Foundation, Bae Mindanao, Agyu sa Lupa and Huning Lumad. During the Singapore Biennale 2013: If the World Changed event, Salima and the Talaandig Artists Group staged an art exhibit entitled Memories of the Peoples of the Earth: The Revolution of the Talaandig People at galleries of the Singapore Art Museum, the National Museum of Singapore and the Pernakan Museum.

I’m going to take a bit of a break here and break it to you guys, but one of the reasons why there’s a lot of traffic about the Bazaari-sari is because of the presence of a particular artist by the name of Hero Angeles who is popularly remembered from his time at Star Magic as an actor.

Confession: I remember his name being mentioned a lot growing up, but I never cared about show business so I didn’t get the hype until literally almost everyone had to explain the significance to me.

He actually held an exhibit around the same time last year that focused on his artworks – Inkterlace I think it was called, and I actually appreciated them – mostly for the process of how he finishes a particular piece and the overall effect of the art. I think I remember thinking I could lace my fingers along the lines of the page and pull a three-dimensional figure off of his paper – IT WAS THAT GOOD.

This year, he’s showcasing merchandise (more of my weaknesses other than stationery) like mugs, tote bags, and the like – designed by Hero Angeles himself along with the ARTCETERO Team I think, which unsurprisingly, is for a good cause.

So the best part about the Bazaari-Sari? I’m going to be broke by the end of the week. I plan to go back for the following:
1) Hukbong Sandatahan ng Kahaggardan by Manix Abrera *prays I meet him in person*
2) A Quris Journal
3) MUGS
4) A bag… maybe the one with the owl because #selfproclaimed #DaughterofAthena BUT THERE’S A PANDA TOO SO

Anyway, I encourage you to drop by the Bazaari-Sari if you can. It’s a great environment and there’s a lot to learn for aspiring artists and connoisseurs of stories. SEE YOU THERE – if I don’t have classes :3

BONUS STORY:

So there I was minding my own business walking around the exhibit – in my normal awkward potato fashion, until I was pushed off my mindful milieu by the exhibitors of ARTCETERO. Now I am not going to go into detail of the inner panic that I was having because I thought I did something wrong and was about to get roasted for whatever error I committed but instead, they tell me that Hero Angeles drew something that looked like me:

Hero Angeles’s interpretation of an Enya.

Let it be known that having a pencil stabbed through a my hair bun is a normal occurrence; I do the same to pens and paintbrushes and it drives me crazy because I keep forgetting that they’re there and there’s a huge possibility that the whole world has seen me with the crazy up-do.

What isn’t normal, is having a caricature of you drawn by a renowned artist who noticed the presence of a writing utensil uncannily found used to skewer innocent hairdos.

So panic aside, I gave a slight thank you after recognizing the picture as sort-of-me and escaping to the nearest form of safe familiarity – Sir Jude. Then of course after telling him of what transpired, he insisted I go back and maybe ask if I could keep it, which I did and unsurprisingly did it the most awkward way possible:

Side note: This isn’t in verbatim because I can hardly ever remember what was said because of mental messes.

Enya: So… why did you draw me? Like, we’re you that bored? HahaHero: Hindi… napansin ko kasi yung lapis sa ulo mo…Enya: Ahhh, can I take a picture of it?Hero: *something about how I can keep it* *folds and cuts paper in half* *hands it to me*Enya: Omg, thank you for the *something* gift.Hero: *something about the mentioned something*Enya: Um, thank you… It’s weird because last year, you had your exhibit here as well and I just so happened to get a group picture with you that time. Thanks again for this… *awkwardly leaves and immediately wants a special meteor to kill self on the spot for being weird*

And reflecting on that, I’m stuck with: CAN I FAST FORWARD TO THE TIME WHERE I DON’T HAVE THE BONE-CRUSHING ANXIETY OR THE INTIMIDATING-AURA PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

But I’m pretty sure I’m going to look back on this post and laugh at my what would be the old me, but until that time… *creates a fort and hides from humanity*